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First, our OWI law firm in Michigan will answer the top 9 questions about the OWI meaning. Other than one letter, little difference between OWI and DUI exists.

A Michigan first offense OWI charge carries severe conviction penalties including jail time community service hours, court fines, and possibly job loss. Look for an OWI lawyer near me whose legal services include trial experience and plea bargaining strategies.

  1. What is OWI, in the State of Michigan? A first-offense OWI in Michigan is a crime categorized as a misdemeanor in Michigan, unless the number of offenses reached a 3rd OWI in Michigan. Our state still uses different acronyms for being over the legal limit (OUIL).
  2. What’s the difference between DUI and OWI meaning? Each acronym stands for the same general crime, drunken driving, or drugged driving. Each state’s legislature names its laws on impaired driving or intoxicated driving. Generally, DUI is for “driving under the influence.” O.W.I. stands for operating while impaired in Michigan.
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A drunk driving conviction has lifelong consequences. Long after your driver’s license has been restored, you’ll still have the DUI conviction on your permanent record. The good news is that the expungement laws in Michigan for DUI cases have recently been changed.

Michigan DUI expungement lawyer Patrick Barone leads the Barone Defense Firm and is partners with some of the best DUI attorneys who handle the toughest DUI cases.
This means your conviction involving an operating while intoxicated OWI offense can now be removed. And this removal or expungement comes with many benefits. Many kinds of DUI convictions are eligible, sometimes even those drunk driving convictions involving injury or death can be expunged.

What Does DUI Expungement Actually Mean?

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Most police agencies in Michigan use dash cams to record citizen interactions. This means that if you’ve been arrested for DUI or

Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) in Michigan, there is an excellent chance that a dash-cam video exists.

Every drunk driving arrest is different, and not every video recording is the same.  However, this arrest video may capture all the interaction you had with police, beginning with an audio of the officer’s first words to you as you were sitting in your car after being stopped. Next, the video may show you stepping out of the car and then walking to the rear and waiting for the officer to give you instructions on the field sobriety tests.  If the officer asked you to state the alphabet, count backwards, pick a number, etc., then your responses to these requests may also be captured on the audio portion of the video recording.  Also, it may be possible to determine how well you performed on the walk and turn and the one leg stand exercises.  Finally, a careful observation of the video recording will allow your attorney to determine if the officer followed his or her training regarding these tests, and particularly, if the officer properly administered the horizonal gaze nystagmus test (DUI eye test).

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Expect to pay between four and seven thousand dollars for a Michigan driver license restoration lawyer. However, the cost of your license restoration lawyer will depend on a variety of factors. First among them is likely to be their years of experience, with a close second being their location.

Lawyers with more years of experience tend to charge higher fees because they have more expertise and therefore a better track record than lawyers who have less experience. Also, lawyers in Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, and other remote areas tend to charge less. In part this is because they are not specialists. These lawyers often handle many different areas of law. But, as the saying goes, they are “masters of none.”

Biggest Mistakes Made By People Without License Restoration Lawyers

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In Michigan all crimes involving sexual assault go by the broad term of criminal sexual conduct. These are crimes involving some degree of sexual violence.

The word “rape” does not itself appear within our criminal laws. Instead, rape is used as a generic term to refer to what happens when you have non-consensual sexual intercourse with another person, especially when either physical force or threats are used to get the other person to submit to the sex act.

Age is an important factor in Michigan sex crimes law. We discuss the concept of age of consent elsewhere.

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Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct, commonly referred to as CSC, is the unlawful sexual assault or touching or penetration of another. In Michigan, there are four separate sexual offenses each defined by the acts of behaviors of the alleged offender.

Each level of sexual act offense is called a “degree.” Within each of these degrees are multiple variables or legal theories that the state must prove in order to support the allegation. Such variables may include the age of the victim, the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, and whether force or coercion was used in the commission of the alleged crime.

What Must Prosecutor Prove to Establish a Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree?

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If you’ve been arrested for DUI in Michigan, you’re likely feeling anxious and uncertain about what comes next. The penalties for a DUI conviction can be severe, but knowing what to expect can help you prepare.

In a Michigan operating while intoxicated case, also called OWI/DUI, the penalties will be based on the severity and nature of the offense, and your prior record. Possible penalties include jail time, license suspension or revocation, fines, costs, community service and probation.

Understanding DUI Penalties in Michigan

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If you were arrested for OWI in Michigan the police may have tested either your breath or blood for the amount of alcohol. If your blood level is above the legal limit of .08 in Michigan, then you can end up losing your driver’s license and could even end up going to jail.

Your blood alcohol content (BAC) will be reported in a report. You can get your DUI blood test results by contacting the police department that arrested you for drunk driving. They may be unwilling or unable to provide you with the results.

If you can’t get your DUI blood test results from the police, then you’ll have to find out where the blood was tested, and contact the lab. Most chemical testing for a DUI involving alcohol or drugs or will tested by the Michigan State Police Forensic Lab in Lansing. If you were arrested for OWI in Oakland County Michigan, your blood was probably tested by the Oakland County Sheriff’s forensic lab.

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Many people ask us if you can get a DUI for being high. The answer is yes, you can get a DUI in Michigan for being high on Marijuana. If you use cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, you might wonder, “How do cops test for a weed DUI? Police officers will use the same kind of roadside tests used for one involving alcohol. So, from this perspective, there is little difference in a DUI with weed vs. alcohol.

What many drivers don’t realize is that you can be arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana even if you used it legally and hours earlier. Michigan law doesn’t set a legal limit for THC like it does for alcohol, so the decision to arrest often depends on the officer’s observations—things like your driving behavior, field sobriety test performance, and physical appearance. This creates a lot of legal gray areas, especially for people who use medical marijuana and may have residual THC in their system without being impaired.

Without getting to technical, one difference is that a DRE officer might be involved if the cops suspect marijuana impairment. Another difference is that there is currently no DUI breath test for weed.

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Michigan Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys

The Barone Defense Firm consists of some of Michigan’s top Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers. Lead Federal Attorney Keith Corbett is a former United States Attorney. He has been practicing federal criminal law for more than 35 years, and has received numerous awards for his skillful federal practice.

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Federal Criminal Defense Team

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Contact Information
280 N Old Woodward Ave #200
Birmingham, MI 48009
Phone: 248-306-9158
2155 Butterfield Dr #305A
Troy, MI 48084
Phone: 248-306-9158
39 S Main St #20
Clarkston, MI 48346
Phone: 248-306-9158
The Federal Eastern District Court for Michigan has courthouses located in Ann Arbor, Flint, Port Huron, and Bay City, whereas the Western District Court also has courthouses located in Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. View More

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